'Read the First Amendment': Bloomberg criticized for attacking own reporters about 2020 coverage rules

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg faced criticism over the weekend for comments he made about reporters at his own news publication, Bloomberg News.

The outlet, which Bloomberg founded in 1981, has not investigated the former mayor during any of his previous campaigns and announced their intention to follow that policy when it comes to his presidential campaign. In order to keep the playing field level, the editorial staff at Bloomberg News announced that they will not investigate any of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, but they'd continue to dig into President Trump.

The backlash surrounding the editorial policy led to the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee's decision to no longer credential their reporters. Bloomberg threw that policy back in the spotlight on Friday during an interview with CBS News' Gayle King. He said the reporters that are critical of the policy “just have to learn to live with some things. They get a paycheck. But with your paycheck comes some restrictions and responsibilities."

Media studies professor at DePauw University, Jeff McCall, told the Washington Examiner that the situation has been "poorly managed" since the campaign launch and added that Bloomberg's remarks about his reporters "reflects a tin ear to the basics of journalistic professionalism." McCall, who believes the policy should be changed, suggested that the outlet could have hired independent freelance reporters from outside the outlet, which would allow their editorial process to be separate from the "organization's news hierarchy and Bloomberg himself."

A number of other media members expressed their support for the reporters who are caught in the situation. MSNBC's Chuck Todd advised Bloomberg to "read the First Amendment" on Meet The Press, while CNN's Jake Tapper called the situation "untenable" and said he felt bad for those reporters.

"They floated it out there with insufficient thought, and the negative feedback should now clue them in that their approach is ill-advised," McCall said to the Washington Examiner. "They could remedy the situation by simply declaring confidence in the professionalism of Bloomberg News journalists to report fairly and without favor, and then turning the political reporting team loose to go where stories lead."

He also pointed out that the editorial decision to only investigate Trump "just fuels the Trump anti-press narrative" that "mainstream journalism outlets are biased and out to get Trump." McCall added, "That Trump view of the press is not nuanced or even fully accurate, but the kind of evidence provided by Bloomberg News fuels the anti-press attitudes of Trump supporters."

One of Bloomberg's 2020 rivals, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, weighed in, saying, "A reporter’s coverage of candidates for the highest office shouldn’t be determined by one of the candidates controlling their paychecks." She added, "Freedom of the press is one of the most important values in our country."